Tongue protector



g- 8, 1939- c. LOHNER ET AL 2,168,712

TONGUE PROTECTOR Filed March 29, 1937 INVENTOR ATTORN E Patented Aug. 8,1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,168,712 TONGUE PROTECTOR ApplicationMarch 29, 1937, Serial No. 133,725

3 Claims.

This invention relates to means for protecting the tongue of a carcassduring processing.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means for protecting ahog tongue from the teeth and from the dehairing beaters duringdehairing of the carcass.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description andclaims which follow.

The present invention is an improvement on the tongue protectordescribed and claimed in the application of Nicholas J. Dziedzic, SerialNo. 112,133, filed November 21, 1936.

In the drawing similar reference characters in the several figuresindicate similar elements. Figure 1 is a top view of the tongueprotector of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view.

Figure 3 is a side view.

Figure 4 is a side view partly in section of a go hog head with a tongueprotector in position The tongue protector of the present invention maybe formed of a single piece of wire I, forming a helical coil 2. Theends of the wire provide arms 3 and 4 which may be bent as at 5 25 and6, respectively, to provide gripping recesses.

Flesh engaging points I and 8 are provided by bending arms 3 and 4,respectively, at 9 and It]. It will be noted that the coil 2 is conicalin shape, having the apex of the cone as at H.

3 The cone may be oval as shown in Figure 1, or

any other desired shape such as cylindrical.

It will be readily apparent that arms 3 and 4 are tensionable, that is,they may be placed under tension when pressed together for inser- 35tion or holding in a carcass mouth.

The conical shape of the tongue protector shown in the drawing isadapted to fit into the cavity of the mouth of a hog and to definitelyhold back the tip of the tongue. The fit which 40 is secured with thetongue protector of the present invention renders it possible tocompletely close the hogs mouth after the tongue protector is inserted.

The tongue protector of the present invention is inserted into the mouthof the hog by compressing the arms, preferably with a tool or forceps,the tip of the tongue being caught in the coil. After the tongueprotector is in position, the pressure on arms 3 and 4 is released, 5whereupon the flesh engaging points 1 and 8 are securely embedded intothe flesh inside the cheeks. It is apparent that the tongue protectormay be readily removed from the hogs mouth by again compressing the armsto disengage the 19 points I and 8 permitting removal of the tongueprotector.

The tongue protector of the present invention has been found to beeffective in practice in preventing the teeth of a hog from mutilating15 the tongue while the hogs head is being struck with heaters in adehairing machine.

One difficulty which has been experienced with some hog tongueprotectors is the tendency to hold the mouth open, causing excessivedamage 20 to the jaws and breaking the protectors in the dehairingmachine. The tongue protector of the present invention permits the mouthof the hog to entirely close in normal fashion, whereby the contactbetween the two jaws produces a cushioning effect veliminating damage tothe jaws.

We claim:

1. A tongue protector comprising a helically wound conical springprovided with tensionable arms adapted to be inserted within the mouthof an animal carcass to secure the spring within the mouth of thecarcass.

2. A tongue protector comprising a conical guard means and tensionablearms adapted to be inserted within the mouth of an animal carcass tosecure the guard means within the mouth of the carcass.

3. A tongue protector comprising a continuous rod of resilient materialbent to form a protecting conical coil having arms integral therewith,said arms terminating in flesh engaging points.

CARL L. LOHNER. HARRY H. MCKEE.

